Brody
We’d been sitting in the den for about thirty minutes, watching some shitty movie while we waited for Savannah and Quinn to come downstairs. Mom and Dad were in the kitchen making dinner, and Mason had just texted to say he and Lib were on their way over. I absentmindedly flicked the ring pull on my soda can. It was hard to believe that just over twenty-four hours ago we’d sat in this same room not realizing the hell that was about to unfold in the stables.
“Looks like the girls are done,” Josh said as laughter echoed down the stairs. “I thought they’d be up there hours. You know how Sav gets when clothes are involved.”
“I know how obsessed with cowboy boots she is. I carried box after box of them over to the cottage when she moved out. After the amount of shit I moved, I can’t believe she even has any clothes left here.” I groaned remembering the countless trips I’d made carrying her stuff between the house and the cottage.
“Brody Parker, are you moaning about helping your favorite sister move her shit, as you put it?” Savannah asked as she breezed into the room, dropping down onto Josh’s lap.
I rolled my eyes and looked away when she kissed him. “You’re my only sister, Savannah. And for God's sake cut it out! I don’t need to see that and you're probably gonna break the dude's legs,” I joked as I watched my heavily pregnant sister and my best friend make out. She pulled a face at me and laughed, giving Josh a final peck on the lips before moving to his side on the couch.
“Come in, Quinn,” she said looking past me. I turned to see Quinn standing awkwardly in the doorway. My eyes travelled the length of her body and my mouth went dry. She was wearing cowboy boots and a short denim skirt, her toned legs on display. Her red top hugged her body in all the right places, making her tits look amazing.
“Have a seat,” she said, gesturing to the space next to me on the couch. Her eyes met mine, and she smiled shyly before walking around the couch and sitting down. As she sat down the skirt rode up her legs and she self-consciously pulled the material down in an attempt to cover up. I found myself smiling as my eyes stayed on her legs. It was obvious a skirt that short wasn’t something she would normally wear, but having no clothes of her own, she was stuck with Savannah’s choices. Right now, I wasn’t complaining. She looked incredible.
Quinn shifted uncomfortably, and I finally dragged my eyes off her legs and up to her face, only to realize she had seen me checking her out. It was my turn for my face to flush and I leapt off the couch. “Drink, anyone?” I hurried backward toward the door.
Savannah burst out laughing and I shot her a dirty look. “I’ll take a water, thanks, Brode,” she said, laughter still evident in her voice.
“Quinn?” I asked, turning to look at her.
“Erm, just a soda, please.” I nodded and made a quick exit. As I closed the door, I heard Savannah.
“See, I said he’d lose his shit.” Groaning, I walked down the hallway to the kitchen. I might have known Savannah was playing matchmaker. God help poor Quinn.
After grabbing a bottle of water and three cans of soda, I made my way back to the den. As I was in the hallway, the front door opened, and Mason and Libby walked in.
“Hey, Brody,” Libby called out, taking one of the cans out of my hand before I dropped it.
“Hi, guys. Come in, we're in the den.” They shouted hello to Mom and Dad in the kitchen before following me down the hall.
“Lib!” Savannah exclaimed, easing herself up from the couch and flinging her arms around Libby.
“Are you okay?” Libby put her hand protectively on Savannah’s stomach.
“I’m fine. Glad to be home.”
“And Josh. God, you gave us a fright,” Libby said, stepping away from Savannah and crossing the room to hug Josh.
“I’m good, Lib,” he assured her. Mason crossed the room and pulled Josh into a one-armed hug, slapping him on the back before slipping his arm around Libby.
“Guys, this is Quinn,” Savannah said, gesturing to where Quinn was still sitting on the couch. “Quinn, this is Libby and Mason. Brody pulled Quinn from the stables during the fire.”
“Hi, Quinn. Great to meet you,” Libby said with a smile.
“Hi,” Quinn replied, giving Libby and Mason a small wave.
“Lib’s our cousin from England. She came over to visit last year, met Mason and fell in love. They got married just after Christmas. They live on the ranch in one of the cabins,” Savannah explained as she opened her bottle of water and took a swig.
“Sounds romantic. Congratulations on getting married.”
“Thanks.” Libby reached up on her tiptoes to kiss Mason on his jaw. “So, Sav tells me you’re staying here and working on the ranch? It’ll be nice to have another girl around the place.”
Quinn nodded. “I’ll be cleaning the cabins and staying in Savannah’s old room until I can get on my feet.”
“Maybe we can fit in a girls’ night, before Savannah has the baby?”
“I’d like that.”
“Better hurry with that girls’ night. I’m not sure how much bigger Sav can get before she pops,” I joked.
“Hey!” Savannah cried, hitting me on the arm. Josh laughed as he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arm around her.
“I think you look beautiful, baby,” he said, patting her stomach.
“Hmph. You have to say that.”
“I’m joking,” I assured her. She gave me a filthy look, and I caught Quinn’s eye, her lips turning up in a smile at our banter. I flashed her a smile, and she grinned back, her nose wrinkling up.
Thankfully, we were saved from anymore arguing when Dad shouted from the kitchen that dinner was ready. Following everyone to the dining room, the smell of a home-cooked meal invaded my senses and my stomach growled. I’d only been able to grab things from a vending machine while we’d waited at the hospital and I suddenly realized how hungry I was.
Quinn
Sitting at the huge dining table I couldn’t help but look around at everyone. They all seemed so happy. It was obvious that Claire and Ryan adored each other, and in spite of the playful banter between Savannah and Brody, I could tell they were close. Up until Evan, it had only ever been me and Mom. I’d had a good childhood, and Mom had done her best, but I had been lonely. Mom had worked long hours to pay the bills, and I had spent a lot of time being looked after by an elderly neighbor. I would have loved a sibling or cousins for company.
Dinner was amazing. It was only lasagna, but it seemed like an eternity since I’d eaten a home-cooked meal. Well, a home-cooked meal I hadn’t had to prepare myself and then eat in my room. Evan had liked a meal on the table when he got in, and I enjoyed cooking. I’d never wanted to sit and eat with him though, for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing. I’d always taken my food upstairs. It had been a long time since I’d sat around a table and eaten.
The main conversation over dinner was about the stables, and what needed to be done to get what was left of the building removed and another one built.
“I’ll get on the phone to my dad tomorrow,” Josh announced.
“Thanks, son. I appreciate that,” Ryan replied. “The insurance company have been informed and they’ll be sending someone out early next week. The sooner we can get things started the better.”
“Did all the horses make it out?” I asked, remembering that nearly all the stalls had been occupied.
“All but two,” Savannah said sadly. “It’s thanks to Brody that most of them managed to escape. If he hadn’t opened the stalls as he went past, none of them would have gotten out.” I looked across to Brody who was sitting opposite me and smiled.
“Looks like I’m not the only one he rescued that night then?” I said, my eyes still fixed on him.
“Thank God Brody found you,” Claire said. “I never want to have to go through a night like that again.”
“Me either,” Savannah said, leaning into Josh. “And don’t think you’ll be helping your dad tomorrow; you need to rest.”
“Josh’s dad owns a construction company and Josh works for him. Dad’s hoping they’ll be able to rebuild the stables,” Brody explained after seeing the confused look on my face.
“What do you do on the ranch, Brody?” I asked, reaching for a slice of garlic bread from the center of the table.
“Everything.” He laughed, and I raised my eyebrows in question. “Pretty much whatever needs doing around the ranch: repairs, maintenance, the occasional excursion when we're busy. I’ll show you around tomorrow if you want? We don’t have any guests right now, so I’ll have some free time.”
“That would be great.” I was excited to look around the ranch. “Oh, but I'll be working.”
“No working for a while yet, Quinn. Not with two broken ribs,” Claire warned. “You need to rest up.”
“Oh no, Claire, I’m fine. Honestly. I can start work right away.” I couldn’t stay at the house without earning any money. I wasn’t comfortable with that.
“Quinn, honey, I wouldn’t be a great employer if I let my staff work when they weren’t fit to. You need to rest.”
“But,” I began.
“You can go out with Brody next week if you really don’t want to stay around the house. He can show you how things work, and when you’re feeling up to it, you can start the cleaning job,” Claire suggested.
“What a great idea!” Savannah said. I stole a look at Brody and caught him scowling at her. I knew she’d been wrong about him liking me, and now it looked like I was going to be an inconvenience to him until I was able to work.
“Err, I don’t want to put anyone out…” I trailed off, my eyes on the leftover lasagna on my plate.
“You’re not putting anyone out, honey. You don’t mind, do you, Brody?” Claire asked. I raised my head and saw her looking expectantly at Brody. He shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
“Fine with me.” I wasn’t convinced with his reply, he sounded less than pleased. “It’ll be an early start. I need to check all the perimeter fences on Monday.”
“It’s okay. I can do early.”
“That’s settled then,” Claire exclaimed. “Now who wants dessert?”
Dessert was just as good as dinner, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so stuffed. We moved to the sitting room once we’d finished eating, and I sat on the large corner couch. I sat quietly while everyone chatted. I felt as though I was intruding on their family time even though I’d been made to feel welcome. My eyes felt heavy, and I was struggling to stay awake. It had been a long few days, and I was exhausted.
Waking with a start, I opened my eyes, finding myself nestled against a hard chest. Lifting my head, I realized Brody was carrying me.
“Hey,” he muttered when he realized I was awake.
“What are you doing?”
“You fell asleep on the couch. When we couldn’t wake you, I offered to carry you up to bed,” he explained as he pushed the door to my room open and flicked on the light. Exhausted, I dropped my head back onto his chest and tried not to notice how incredible he smelled. He crossed the room and placed me gently on the bed. “You should get some rest.”
I nodded as I sat up and gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Quinn,” he said walking backward toward the door, his eyes fixed on mine. “Night.”
“Night,” I whispered as he turned and walked out into the hall, closing the door behind him.
Sighing, I swung my legs to the side of the bed and padded across to the bathroom. As tired as I was, I could still smell smoke in my hair and on my skin. It was as though it had seeped into every pore and I couldn’t get rid of it. I needed a shower. Reaching behind the curtain that hung over the tub I flicked on the water, steam quickly filling the bathroom. I peeled off my clothes and climbed in, backing up under the hot spray. The shower in the hospital had been okay, but nothing compared to this. I felt like I could stand under the jets for hours.
After washing and conditioning my hair twice, I forced myself to turn the spray off. There were clean towels hanging on the towel rack and I grabbed one, wrapping it around my tired body. Drying off, I looked in the closet for something to wear to bed, settling on an oversized t-shirt when I couldn’t find any pajamas. Quickly, I closed the drapes and climbed under the comforter. I had no idea what time it was, but it was dark outside, and the house was quiet. I wondered whether Brody’s bedroom was next door and strained to hear any sounds through the wall but was met with silence. Closing my eyes, I snuggled into the pillow, falling asleep feeling safe for the first time in what felt like forever.